Fog-signal for railways



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W.S. PHELPS.

FOG SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS. No. 287.157. Patented Oct. 23, 1883.

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W S.' PHELP'S.

FOG SIGNAL POR RAILWAYS. No. 287,115?. 'Patented 0013.23, 1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEE-ICE.

VALTER S. PHELPS, OF WOBTENDYKE, NEW JERSEY.

FOG-SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 287,157, dated October 23, 1883.

Application filed December 28, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WALTER S. PnELrs, of Wortendyke, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Fog-Signals for Railways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my inventionV is to provide a new and improved device fonplacing torpedoes on the tracks of railways in case trains are to be signaled and stopped during foggy weather or at night.

The invention consists in a box adapted to contain a series of torpedoes, and provided with a sliding bar which grasps the torpedoes and carries them out of the box and holds them on the rail, to be exploded by the wheels of a passing train, to which bar torpedoes are fed automatically by a spring contained in the above-mentioned box. The torpedoes are fed through a spout on the end of the box toward the rails, which spout is provided with a hinged gate, which is automaticallylocked in position when no torpedo is 'held on the rail.

The invention also consists in various details and parts of construction, as will be fully described and set forth hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure l is a plan view of myimproved railway fog-signal, showing the same in position in relation to the rail, the top plate being removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same on line .c x, Fig. l. l Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same on line 1/ y, Fig. l. Fig. iis a cross-sectional elevation on line z z, Fig. 1. Fig. 5`is a perspective view of the bottom sliding plate. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a pin for operating the device for raising the spring-latch. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the casing in which the plates slide. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the casi ng, showing the mechanism removed. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the holding-spring.

A iiat box or casing,'A, is provided at one end with an upwardly-inclined spout, A', the outer end of which is horizontal, and the box A is secured on a suitable support or frame at theside of the track in such a manner that the outer edge of the spout A' will be on a level with and adjoining to the top of one rail, the said box A being located at the outer side of the rail.

At one of the longitudinal edges of the box A, a guide-casing, B, is held on the iioor of the box, which guide-casing is provided on the inner surface of one of its sides with a longitudinal groove, a, for receiving a lateral iiange, C', projecting from a sliding plate, C, resting on the iioor of the casing A, under the guide B. The plate G has its outer end beveled, as shown in Fig. 5, so that it will iit against the inclined bottom of the spout A. In one edge of the plate C is provided a notch, c, into which a nib, D', passes, which is made integral with a short small shaft, D, which is located below the plate O, in a groove, D2, in the bottom of the casing A, sothat the plate C can slide over the shaft D. At one end the shaft D is provided with a crank-arm, d. rlwo transverse guides, E' and E2, are provided on top of the guide B, and in the same a iiat spring-bar, E, slides, which bar E rests on the guide-casing B.'

The guide-casing B is provided with a longitudinal slot, B', through which a pintle, F, passes, which is secured on the rear end of the sliding plate C. The said pintle also passes through a short longitudinal slot, F', in the rear or inner end of the lat'bar E. The pintle F also passes through one end of a connecting-bar, G, which is guided in aV slotted projection, G', at the rear end ofthe casing A, which bar G is connected by wires, ropes, rods, or other suitable devices with mechanism for operating the same or moving it in the direction of its length. e

At its outer or front end, the bar E is provided on its upper surface with ahook, e, and directly behind the same with a beveled nib, f,'and at the same end it is provided on its lower surface with a downwardly-projecting prong, H. The spout A' is so located in relation to the sliding bar E and the slidingV bar B that the outer end of the bar E can pass over the said spout, which is provided with a longitudinal slot, A2, through which the prong H can pass. At the end toward the rail the box A is provided with a transverse guidecasing, J, for receiving the torpedoes K, which are attached in pairs to a plate, L, provided at the end toward the inner part of the casing `with a ridge, L", forming a groove, in which f latch N, or the end plate, M', can be locked in place by means of any other suitable device. On the guide-casing J a spring, O, is secured, the free end of which is directly behind the inner end opening of the spout A'.

The spring O is provided with a bent lug, O', `under which a beveled plate or projection, P', is adapted to pass, which beveled projection is attached to a sliding bar, P, held on the side of the guide-casing B. The bent end of the crank-arm d is journaled in the said sliding bar P. A gate, Q, is pivoted in the upper inner ends of the sides of the spout A', and to its under side a bail, R, is plvoted, which projects through the inner opening of the spout into the casing. The free end ofthe spring O is notched or recessed to fit closely over the said bail. Ordinarilythe free end of the spring 0 is lowered to prevent the bar E from being moved in the direction of the arrow b', and for that reason the free end of the spring 0 must be raised before'the bar E can be moved in the direction of the arrow b'. The bottom of the casing is provided with an aperture, S, directly behind the inner opening of the spout A', for a purpose which will be described hereinafter.

A bell-crank or elbow lever, T, pivoted on the bottom of the casing A, has one end connected with the pintle F and the other with a transverse sliding bar, U, which is connected with another apparatus of the kind described above, or with some other device for moving the said bar U in the direction of itsr length.

The operation is as follows: The guidecasing J is filled with cartridges or torpedoes K, united in pairs, `as described above, and the spring M presses the same in the direction of the arrow a', so that one double torpedo will always be behind the spout A'. As the double torpedoes are pressed in the direction of the arrow a the prong H passes into the grooves formed by the ridges L,which grooves are open at the ends, and then the prong drops into the slot or hole L2 in the bottom of the said groove, whereby the'double torpedo will be held on the end of the slidingbar E. The apparatus is now ready for action. If the sliding bar E and the plate C are moved in the direction of the arrow b', either by means of the connecting-bar G or by means of the bar U and the lever T, the plate C will be moved a short distance in the direction of the arrow b before the bar E is moved, as the pintle F moves throughthe slot F' in the bar E without acting on the said bar E. By the movement of the bar C in the ,direction of the arrow b the edges of the notch c, acting on the rib- D', turns the small shaft D and throws the arm d in the direction toward the spout, thereby moving the sliding bar P in the direction of the arrow b'. By the movement of the bar P in the direction of the arrow b', the beveled projection P' passes under the upwardly-projecting lug O' of the spring O, and thus raises the free end of the spring O. If the bar E is moved in the direction of the arrow b', the plate C will be moved forward across the mouth of the torpedo-casing, and thereby prevent another torpedo from being forced out of its casing, and the double torpedo held by the prong H on the end of the same slides up the inclined bottom of the spout A till it rests on the rail, as

shown in Fig. 2. The prong H passes through the slot A2 in the bottom of the spout. As the torpedo moves upward the prong H will be forced through the slot L2 until" the under side of the bar E rests on the upper edges of the ridge L', and at the same time the bottom surface of the double torpedo will be pressed firmly against the bottom of the spout A'. The torpedo will thus be held very firmly and cannot be withdrawn or removed from thefbar E. If a train passes, it will explode the torpedo and give the desired signal. If the torpedo is to be removed from the rail, the bar E is withdrawn in the reverse direction of the arrow b', and thereby the double torpedo will be drawn into the casing A again, in which it remains until it is to be used, when it can be projected from the casing by moving the bar E in the direction of the arrow b. If the torpedoes have been exploded by the wheel of a passing train` the bar E is withdrawn in the reverse direction of the arrow b', and the empty torpedo-casing drops through the opening S in the bottom of the box A, and the spring M presses a fresh torpedo under the end of the bar E, whichfresh torpedo will be held by the same. If the bar E is withdrawn in the reverse direction of the arrow b', the plate C will move with it, and the notch c in the said plate C will swing the shaft D and the arm d of the same toward the rear of the casing, whereby the bent'lug O' of the spring O will be permitted to move downward and to press the bail R on the bar E, so that the hook e passes into the bail R, and thus prevents opening the hinged cover Q from the outside. The hinged cover or gate Q is opened automatically by the double torpedo as the same moves out of the spout. The beveled projection fon the sliding bar E is used to assist in raising the door Q upon the withdrawal of the bar E, and when the said bar is in its normal position the bail of the door is held between the hook e and the said inclinef.

The apparatus is very reliable. The torpedoes are fed to the mechanism for placing them on the rail automatically. They areheld very firmly. There is no waste of torpedoes, for in case a torpedo is not used it is returned into the casing, and the apparatus cannot be tampered withy It can be operated by the same wires or rods that operate gates, dangersignals, semaphores, Src.

I do not limit myself to any particularkind of a box or motion, as it can be equally well operated by a vertical movement or other mechanism within the box.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a safety fog-signal for railways, a box for containing torpedoes, provided with a spout having a slotted bottom, in combination with a sliding bar provided with a downwardly-proj ecting prong, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a safety fog-signal for railways, a box for containing` torpedoes, provided with a spout having a slotted bottom, and a gate for closing said spout, in combination with a sliding bar provided with a downwardly-projecting prong, and means for automatically locking the gate, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with a box for containing torpedoes, of a bar for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding` them on the rail, a spring in front of the end of the said bar, and of devicesfor automatically raising the said spring before the bar is projected out of the box, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the Vsliding bar E, forl carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, the gate Q, the bail R, pivoted tothe same, and the hook e on the end of thebar E, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth. y

5. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the guidecasing J, for receiving the torpedoes, the spring M, andthe sliding bar E, for grasping the torpedoes, carryingthem out ofthe box, and holding them on the rail, substantially as here- Y in shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the bar E, for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, of the spring 0, and the sliding bar I?, for raising the spring O before the bar E is moved ont of the box, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the bar E, for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, of the sliding plate C, the shaft D, provided with the nib D and the crank-arm d, the spring O, and the sliding plate P', connected with the arm d, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of thebar E, the plate C, provided with a guide-flange, C', and with a notch, c, the shaft D, provided with a nib, D', and a cranl -arm,`d, the spring O, and the sliding plate P, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

9. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the guidecasing B, provided with guide cross-pieces E E2, and a guide-groove, a, of the shaft D, provided with a nib, D', and a crank-arm, d, the sliding bar E, the plate P', and the spring O, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

10. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the

combination, with the box A, of the guidecasing B, the plate C, the sliding bar E, for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, of the pintle F. and

the connecting-bar G, substantially as herein v shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a safety fog-signal for railways, the combination, with the box A, of the guidecasing B, the plate C, the sliding bar E, for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, of the pintle F, the connecting-bar G, and the bell-crank lever` T, and the transverse .connecting-bar U, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

12. In a safety fog-signal for railways', the combination, .with the box A, having the spout A, of the gate Q, the bail R, the sliding bar E, for carrying the torpedoes out of the box and holding them on the rail, the hook e, and the beveled projection f, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

-WALTER SCOTT PHELPS.

litncsscs WILLIAM STEWART, JAMES HENERY S'rorr.

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